Hunting
by misunderstoodemon
Summary: Logan Hunts, and has a decision made for him.


Authors Note: Yeah, I read about 60 issues of the Wolverine comic over two days, and read my X-Men handbook. This was the result. Comicverse, which is unusual for me- I normally write in some weird combination of movies and comics. Hm. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Logan/Wolverine/Patch. Or Madripoor (not that owning a city wouldn't be cool, but I digress.) Do own Amy, my character. Don't steal her, or you'll hurt.

The wolf looked up from the burrow he was inspecting, sniffing suspiciously at the cool breeze. His Alpha trotted up beside him, surveying the surrounding trees with cool impassiveness. Then, with a soft noise that somehow conveyed an order, the Alpha and the rest of his Pack left, quickly trotting away from the few remains of a caribou that were all that was left after the Pack had eaten their fill. Moments later, two other forms emerged from the trees the Alpha had just inspected, neither of them lupine.

One was a large cougar, especially so for a female, and her fur was sleek and glossy, so far unmarked by both age and the dew that was beginning to collect on leaves and blades of grass. The other was a Human male, unashamedly naked with brown hair growing in a style that resembled horns. They both moved with the grace of hunters, and gave the caribou a cursory sniff before continuing on, past the cave where the Pack waited, awaiting the passage of predators stronger than they are.

Cat and man move though the trees soundlessly, blending in with the night with ease. Eventually, both crouched in the bushes, looking at a small herd of caribou, destined to be thinned by one more member tonight. Soundlessly, they split up, circling around in opposite directions. Only moments later, the buck of the herd raised his head, sniffing suspiciously, much like the wolf had only minutes before. Finding what he had thought was there, he broke and ran, the rest of the herd following.

The man dropped down in the middle of the herd, the faster does and fawns parting around him, leaving a slow hart, not yet old enough to have a full rack of antlers. The hart tried to turn, in vain, and fell, struggling to his feet almost the moment he touched down, but then the Man was there, ripping his throat open with claws that were as much a part of him as his hands were. The hart died with one last spasm, and the man carved a chunk of meat off of the carcass and began to eat it, raw, and still hot with the harts blood.

The cougar appeared as he began to eat, ghosting up beside him and taking one leg in powerful jaws and pulling until the joint snapped and the leg separated, spattering her with dark blood. She dragged it over beside where the man sat and lay down with the limb between her front paws and began to eat it.

Some time later, once both had eaten their fill and done their best to clean the bloodstains off their bodies, the man leaned back, sighing. He folded his hands behind his heads, and looked up at the stars visible in the sky above. The cougar rested her head on the center of his torso, one great paw on his stomach. He looked down at her, brown eyes meeting golden ones.

"Change?" he said in a rough, quiet voice, and a moment later there was a brown-haired woman with with eyes that were rapidly turning back to the same colour with her head on his chest, looking at him. She rested her head on his chest, and one of his hands left his head to brush hair off one of her bare shoulders, noticing the flecks of blood that still patterned much of her body, where she had been unable to reach with her tongue. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"I'd forgotten how much fun the hunt was." she said quietly, soft voice not intruding in the respectful silence of the clearing. The man smiled, one that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You know it's more than that." he said, voice gentle, and with a hint of regret in it.

"Yes." One of her hands- the one not resting one his chest- reached up to stroke his cheek, fingers exploring a face they'd long memorized. One finger slowly circled his left eye. "You'll have to don the patch again." she smiled sadly. "You're just not cut out for the quiet life."

"Like any life with you is quiet." he growled playfully, and flipped her over so she was the one on the ground, pinned beneath his weight. "You could make the quietest mans life interesting without breaking a sweat, darlin'." One of her eyebrows rose.

"Oh could I ?" He nodded, a small chuckle, mot quite making it through his lips, rumbling in his chest. Her eyes held her own laughter for a moment before they grew solemn again.

"But you need a different kind of excitement. Not one that can't that can be satisfied with pranks and ornery horses and the occasional hunt. You need blood and guts and intrigue." He kissed her lips gently.

"Not all the time, love."

"But enough of it." One of her hands reached up to stroke his cheek again, not meeting his gaze. "You're just not an average guy who's happy with the occasional barroom brawl." she smiled. "Just like me to fall in love with a wanderer."

The man saw the infinitesimal shift in her demeanor that heralded a potential fight that she was determined to win. They didn't have many, but what ones they did have were extremely volatile. "I'm coming with you this time. Being Patch is one thing, but you leaving me halfway around the world is an entire other thing." he looked at her for a long, measured moment.

"It's not pretty."

"Don't expect it to be."

"Not everyone's gonna be polite or even stop at just mean."

"I can be mean too. And I can handle being propositioned by shady characters."

"Can you?"

"Yes. Kick 'em in the crotch, disappear. They can't take out their wrath on me if they can't find me."

"Some won't stop at wrath. They'll find you."

"I can be hard to find when I want to be. And that's when being the infamous Patch's girlfriend'll come in handy." He snorted.

"I s'pose." He gave her another long,measuring look. "Are ya sure?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely certain."

"Logan," she gave him a look of her own. "The last time you were in Madripoor, I was in the middle of the Australian outback twiddling my thumbs with over half a dozen other X-Men breathing down my neck. Madripoor, no matter how gross, is infinitely preferable to spending my days wondering if you're alive. I'm going, if I have to steal the Blackbird to do it."

"You can't fly it."

"That won't stop me. Storm'll help." Their gazes locked for long moments, and they stretched to a minute. Finally, Logan sighed.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"Nope," she agreed, and pulled his head down to kiss him, enthusiastically congratulating him on his decision.

As always, review! I need the feedback, and yes I know I haven't updated lately. RL and such.

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